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Does America Care?

I grew up deep in the Beltway bubble. It wasn't till I went to college that I discovered people don't regularly discuss the happenings of the Senate Judiciary Committee over dinner. I was shocked.

When I moved to San Francisco, I found something more than political apathy. I found hardcore cynicism. It was as if only the unforgivably earnest or dangerously naive could really believe politics mattered. And the people who were politically involved were irretrievably immersed in their own bubble. San Francisco voters say things like "In a just world, Dennis Kucinich would be the front runner." Any suggestion that Congressman Kucinich's politics might be a little out of step with the majority of voters was met with a snort of derision.

Now I'm back in the DC bubble, living and breathing the most fascinating political race in a generation. And when I visited San Francisco this weekend, something amazing happened. People cared. The formerly cynical, apathetic and derisive natives were engaged, even hopeful. Of course, they're all still raging lefties. But I'd be as disappointed to find moderation in San Francisco politics as I would be to find moderation in San Francisco drag queens.

So here's my question: how do we make it last? Are these newly enagaged Americans just interested in this historic race? Or does this signal the beginning of a new era of civic engagement? And how do we political junkies help make sure it is the latter, not the former?